A few years back, I read a book that described resistance as obstacles that one confronts daily. The author used examples of traffic, a negative co-worker, and mood swings to describe resistance. I won't recommend the book because it wasn't that good, but I appreciated the analogy.
However, when I think about resistance, my first thought is weightlifting. It can be anything that pushes or pulls the body away to create a stimulus of some sort. In the gym, resistance training is how we improve our fitness and change our body composition. Strict presses, squats, burpees, pull-ups, deadlifts, jumping are examples of resistance and they are rooted in our DNA too. If you watch a child play, you can identify resistance; it's truly a necessary component of human life. We don't always appreciate in the moment, but it's our medicine of choice.
But what does resistance look like in your world? Is it five Zoom meetings on a Monday morning? Is it sales pressure to meet a quota that occupies valuable real estate in our minds? How about running your kids from school, to lacrosse practice, to a math tutor, and then home to make dinner, leaving you with little energy for yourself? Whatever your resistance is, try to remind yourself that it's just like lifting weights, the reps and sets will eventually make you stronger and more enduring.
Have a deadline to meet? Treat it as a for-time workout. Five Zoom meetings on a Monday? Well, that's just an emom. Kids have a laundry list of things that need to get done? That sounds like a chipper to me.
Resistance is a fundamental part of growth. Embrace the challenge and use your gym mindset to overcome whatever it is that you're dealing with.
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